novellaaa Chapter 284 Arson
Chapter 284 Arson
Chapter 288 Arson
Cecilia was escorted off the stage by two soldiers who held her arms.
The tens of thousands of spectators on the sidelines were stunned at first, then erupted in a buzz.
That's it!
The other dancers performed worse in the finals than in the regular competition; it turns out she had secretly rigged the game!
But she is, after all, a noblewoman. Should she be convicted for something like this?
It is indeed very strange, but incomprehensible.
Because this defies common sense and contradicts all the knowledge they've accumulated over most of their lives; it's simply a fantasy.
What is nobility?
These are privileged gentlemen and ladies; when they make mistakes, they cannot be treated the same as free citizens!
Facing the bustling square, Richard raised his hand and gently pressed it down. Once the noise subsided, he spoke: "As long as you live a law-abiding life in Chiffon, whoever you are, Chiffon welcomes you. But if anyone dares to defy Chiffon's laws, whether noble or prostitute, there will be no mercy!"
The square remained quiet.
The free immigrants exchanged glances that only they could understand.
They're all seasoned veterans; the sheer volume of promises made by lords in their lives could fill this entire square.
Prosperity, peace, justice, and selflessness are the kinds of things every lord says at the harvest festival.
Ah!
Some things are best left unsaid; taking them too seriously is just fooling yourself.
The lord collects every penny of the taxes due, and he is extremely meticulous in deducting from your monthly salary and rations, trying every possible way and excuse to scrape a layer of flesh off you.
Especially during the recent plague, the city was filled with corpses, both inside and outside the city, and most lords were just hiding in their own castles pretending to be dead.
If it weren't for Chiffon's war magic, some of their remains would already be crumbling into dust.
However, the fact that Lord Chiffon has actually dragged a noble lady down in front of a dozen nobles carries more weight than any proclamation or promise.
A free man stood with his arms crossed, his gaze still fixed on the steps where Cecilia had disappeared.
He suddenly turned his head and muttered to his companion, "Being a subject of Chiffon doesn't seem so bad."
Richard paid no attention to the thoughts swirling in the minds of the tens of thousands of people below the stage, nor did he heed the whispers of the nobles around him.
Because the real feast is yet to come!
He clapped his hands.
A group of soldiers filed out from the side of the waiting area, leading ten people who were bound hand and foot to the center of the square.
The ten men were all dressed in tattered clothes, and their faces were covered in bruises, clearly indicating that they had suffered a great deal of hardship before being brought to the scene.
When they were pushed to the center of the stage, two of them stumbled and almost fell, but the soldiers grabbed them by the back of their collars and lifted them up.
The soldiers then brought ten more wooden stakes and erected them in front of the platform, lined up in a row, with a hemp rope nailed to the top of each stake.
That's a gallows!?
Everyone on and off the stage was stunned. They were familiar with this setup; it was the same during public trials in their territories.
At this moment, a sergeant from the Qifeng Army stood in front of the platform, unfolded a parchment, and loudly read out a charge of crimes.
These ten men were spies sent by Viscount Hanshan to create chaos during the competition and set fires across the city. Now that they have been caught red-handed, the evidence is irrefutable, and they will be publicly executed.
The atmosphere in the square suddenly changed!
Large-scale arson?
Isn't that just burning down the city?!
The North has already had a bad year, with Frostfollicles cruelly burning all the free people of Blackravenland alive.
Then came the Ironwater Territory Massacre, in which the entire city was burned down and the culprit was never found. Now they want to burn Chiffon again?
They were just discussing whether or not to move to this city. These bastards really don't treat free people like human beings!
An old man, leaning on a cane, shouted hoarsely through the crowd: "Burn the city? What do you take us for? Strawberries from the field?!"
A burly man roared angrily, "Black Crow City is on fire! Ironwater City is on fire too! How can we possibly survive until spring?"
A woman screamed, "You damned beasts! Why don't you all just die?!"
More and more voices joined in.
The crowd was instantly outraged!
On the high platform, the nobles' faces also darkened.
They weren't as easily ignited by anger as the free citizens in the audience, but they understood the gravity of "burning down the city" better than anyone else.
Even in the ancient times when lords fought each other all day long, burning down cities was rare, because it was a lose-lose situation.
Most of the people here are minor lords like barons. Whose city defenses aren't stretched thin, with a few weak points?
If there is any conflict, you can appeal to the feudal lord, seek arbitration or mediation, or even declare war and fight!
But no one can prevent or tolerate such a despicable tactic as secretly pouring kerosene into the city!
Lucy was the first to stand up, her face cold and her voice icy: "Hanshan's actions are utterly disgraceful for a noble family!"
Baron Thorns was the second to stand up, directly citing the fine previously imposed by the Golden Lion Arbiter as corroborating evidence: "Viscount Cold Mountain was ordered by the arbitrator to pay two thousand gold coins, he must be holding a grudge, which is why he sent people to set fire to Chiffon in retaliation!"
Paul and Melanie spoke out one after another, condemning Viscount Cold Mountain's outrageous behavior!
Richard remained expressionless and silent.
He had already planned to find time to deal with Hanshan Territory, but unexpectedly, the other party offered him the knife.
However, these ten men had no intention of setting fire to the city; they were just ordinary spies who came to gather intelligence.
Unable to withstand torture after being captured, he sold Viscount Hanshan.
Whether they intended to commit arson or not, the charge has already been leveled against them, which is tantamount to Hanshan launching an unannounced war against Qifeng.
What?
evidence?
Sorry, they swallowed or burned their correspondence when they were arrested.
If you don't believe me, ask the heir of Frostfire, ask the other nobles present, they will surely be willing to vouch for Chiffon, there must be evidence.
If you're not satisfied, then go ahead and file for arbitration!
It just so happens that he can keep his appointment at Golden Lion Castle, where he can enjoy wine with Lawrence and discuss how much of a fine to impose on Hanshan.
At that point, Lawrence might even be willing to forge a letter from Viscount Cold Mountain himself!
As long as the execution is completed today, the body is sent to Benlang, and a letter is written to report to Shuangmo, with all the witnesses, physical evidence, and confessions, this matter will be settled.
At that time, Chiffon will have a legitimate reason to attack Cold Mountain Territory, and will be in accordance with all legal procedures.
It's actually easy to start a war, but due to the one-clan-one-city system, there's really no need to fight to the death for a territory that has to be divided up.
This has led to the current relatively peaceful situation among the lords.
As for the so-called legal rationale, this thing has a wide range of sources:
Granting titles to lords, royal investiture, expansion into unclaimed lands, family inheritance, established traditions, rules of war, arbitration rulings—a whole variety of things are involved.
But if you distill and condense all of this, it all boils down to just one sentence.
Once you gain recognition from the elite circles.
Richard chose to frame Viscount Cold Mountain for arson because simply sending spies to gather intelligence was nothing to nobles.
Which organization hasn't sent spies to other places?
Nobody is clean.
Using this as a pretext for war is legally untenable, and the nobles present wouldn't take it seriously.
But arson is a different story.
Secretly sending men to burn down a city is tantamount to crossing the line for all nobles. Not only would a minor lord like a baron not be able to tolerate it, but even a major lord would not allow it.
If this charge is proven true, Hanshan will become the public enemy of the entire aristocratic circle.
Of course, the accounts of these ten ordinary people alone were not enough to convince the nobles present that Viscount Hanshan intended to commit arson.
But who is Viscount Richard?
This is a wealthy lord who offered you Venus wine on our very first meeting and even gave you a magic lamp worth five or six hundred gold coins as a return gift!
He said you committed arson and dragged the criminal out in such a serious setting. I don't believe him. Why should I believe you?
What if this big shot is in a good mood and gives each family a unicorn when they go home after the competition?
Although it's unlikely, who can say for sure? The big boss's generosity is beyond our comprehension.
As for why it was necessary to go through the proper procedures, it was mainly because Richard wanted to acquire ownership of the land in Cold Mountain Territory and then exchange it for an enclave bordering the Demon Spirit Empire.
Because he wanted to finalize his cross-border trade plans before winter arrived!