Rejected Beauty Practices the Villain Play
Chapter 130 Misunderstanding

Chapter 130: Chapter 130 Misunderstanding

Lin Cheng waved his hand, and a hundred Forbidden Army soldiers followed him into the horse farm. Lin Xiao felt vaguely uneasy, but couldn’t pinpoint why, so he quietly followed Xie Xun. He watched Xie Xun’s back, his mind troubled. The Little Marquis said during the snow disaster that when the Kyoto Capital Guard sees an enemy, they deal with them immediately, and the noble families act with impunity.

Now the Forbidden Army has been stationed at the Marquis Mansion’s horse farm, trampling on the mansion’s dignity, yet the Little Marquis smiled and invited them in. He definitely isn’t a man with a good temper.

There’s always something unusual when things go wrong.

The horse farm has a manor, hot springs, stables, and more. The manor is large enough to accommodate five hundred people. Although the Forbidden Army was searching, they dared not damage the buildings within the manor. The manor and the horse farm were thoroughly searched, yet nothing was found. Lin Cheng was anxious, how could it be! His intuition couldn’t possibly be wrong. Xie Xun must be hiding the Beiman people.

Xie Xun sat leisurely in the pavilion, brewing tea on the stove, the aroma wafting through the air. The Northern Iron Cavalry spread around the horse farm, spears in hand, majestic, yet no one stopped the Forbidden Army from searching.

Nuanyang brought the map, proactively handing it to Lin Cheng, telling him where in the manor people could be hidden, an attitude so cooperative it made Lin Cheng uneasy.

Xie Xun poured himself a cup of tea to moisten his throat.

"Commander Lin, even if someone informed saying I hid the Beiman people, why would I hide them?" Xie Xun asked unhurriedly, "I have irreconcilable differences with the Beiman, seeing one is killing one. Keeping them would only lead to endless troubles and would be used to attack the Marquis Mansion’s city defense. Why would I hide them?"

"Little Marquis, the Forbidden Army has to investigate when they receive a tip-off. Personally, I believe the Little Marquis would never hide enemy troops," Lin Cheng poured him a cup of tea, pretending to speak sincerely, "It’s just a formality, don’t take it to heart."

Xie Xun smiled without speaking, and a report came from the Forbidden Army, "Commander, there’s a dungeon."

"Search it!"

"Yes!" The Forbidden Army received the order and went to search the dungeon.

Lin Cheng put down his teacup and curiously asked, "Why is there a dungeon in the horse farm?"

Xie Xun’s face was indifferent, Feiying said, "The Little Marquis often brings the household soldiers here for training, and if they make a mistake, they are locked in the dungeon to reflect for a day or two."

In such a large manor, what’s so strange about having a dungeon?

The Forbidden Army soon returned from the dungeon. It was empty, with no sign of detainees. Lin Cheng saw Xie Xun walking freely and leisurely, becoming somewhat anxious. He gave a look to his trusted subordinates, signaling them to search more thoroughly.

Xie Xun kindly asked, "Commander Lin, why not send three hundred more to search? Be thorough, check the flowers and grass, you might find a secret passage."

Lin Cheng, "..."

Lin Xiao, Zhang Boxin, and Zhou Liyu all could hear Xie Xun’s sarcasm, like a slap on Lin Cheng’s face.

The hundred Forbidden Army soldiers searched up and down almost turning the horse farm upside down, to no avail. Lin Cheng’s unease peaked, why?

Lin Cheng’s face was extremely unsightly. Zhang Boxin thought gloatingly, he wanted to see how this would end. Mobilizing forces to break into the horse farm and finding nothing — how embarrassing!

His few trusted aides came over, shaking their heads at Lin Cheng. They nearly overturned the horse farm, yet found no trace of the Beiman people.

Lin Cheng, worthy of being the head of the Imperial Guards, reacted quickly, stood up, clasped his fists, and apologetically said, "Little Marquis, this was a misunderstanding. After returning, I will certainly punish the informant harshly. The Marquis Mansion is loyal to Yanyang; how can they maliciously slander it?"

Xie Xun lightly tapped the table with his long fingers, smiling, "Rest assured, I will make my case in front of the court."

Lin Cheng’s face changed slightly, "Little Marquis, what do you mean?"

The sun was setting, its afterglow dim, Xie Xun’s face was shadowed, emotion unclear, he said flatly, "Before searching, I asked you, what if no Beiman people were found? Now it’s proven, there aren’t any Beiman people in the horse farm. In court, I will properly accuse you — using a false pretext to arbitrarily search my family’s horse farm, under whose orders. Ningzhou just had a great victory, and the Forbidden Army is falsely accusing me of harboring enemy troops, such a charge of treason, I cannot bear."

Lin Xiao finally sensed something was off, his brother eager for merit had been led into a trap by the Little Marquis. The Little Marquis was uncharacteristically calm because he knew nothing was in the horse farm, but the Forbidden Army insisted on searching without an imperial decree, leaving his brother at a disadvantage.

Lin Cheng also realized he had been duped, staring at Xie Xun with a sinister glare, knowing better than anyone that the so-called informant and command from the emperor were just his own words. His original plan was to search the horse farm, find the Beiman people, Xie Xun’s demeanor overly suspicious, Feiying and the cavalry’s attitude made him certain there were Beiman people in the horse farm.

If they were found, he’d achieve great merit; if not?

"Little Marquis, this was a misunderstanding, why so serious? I’ll apologize right here." Lin Cheng could be both flexible and firm, admitting fault smoothly, and began to warm up to him with a friendly face.

He had just been punished by the Crown Prince. If matters escalated and implicated the Crown Prince, he would find it truly difficult to regain trust and might lose his position as Commander of the Imperial Guards.

"Too late!" Xie Xun’s attitude, under the twilight, ripped off the mask of elegance, revealing a beast-like ferocity, "This is the territory of the Marquis Zhenbei Mansion, not somewhere you can come and go as you please!"

Lin Cheng gritted his teeth, glaring at Xie Xun, knowing he had fallen into a trap, and this grudge was now firmly established, saying more would be useless. Lin Cheng left in a huff, Lin Xiao chased after two steps, but could only watch his official robe fluttering away.

Brother, why target the Marquis Mansion everywhere?

When the Forbidden Army left, the horse farm emptied out; the Kyoto Capital Guard knew nothing about the Beiman issue, nor did Xie Xun intend to let them know. Fortunately, Feng Shu was astute, moving the Beiman people to the Feng Family’s manor; otherwise, had Lin Cheng found the Beiman people, the Forbidden Army would have plenty of ways to pin crimes on them.

Why was Lin Cheng so convinced the Beiman people were in his horse farm?

A flash of insight hit Xie Xun, could it be that when Lin Cheng returned to the city gate in disgrace, he had been wounded by Beiman people? Why did he encounter them?

Lin Xiao, Zhang Boxin, and Zhou Liyu spent the night at the horse farm. Half of the cavalry had retreated back to the Marquis Mansion, and the three soaked in the hot spring pool, their enthusiasm waned.

Lin Xiao was not in high spirits due to Lin Cheng’s matters, Zhang Boxin was downhearted due to marriage troubles, only Zhou Liyu was carefree, without any worries. Soaking in the hot spring pool, his whole body was comfortable, "This hot spring pool in the horse farm is really well-built, with the right temperature, a sanctuary for health and wellness."

He stretched his arms, resting on the edge of the pool, happily whistling a tune, occasionally sipping a little wine, with wine and fruit placed by the poolside. The playboy knew how to enjoy life, creating conditions even when they weren’t available.

Zhang Boxin and Lin Xiao each occupied a corner, neither speaking, Zhou Liyu said, "What’s wrong with you guys, why aren’t you talking?"

Lin Xiao submerged himself in the water, the hot water covering his head, like an ostrich, long submerged without resurfacing. Zhou Liyu worriedly asked, "He won’t drown, will he?"