"I think it's unnecessary," Liu Dai said, sitting on the mat and looking coldly. "I suspect this matter today might have been arranged by the old patriarch. I, the governor, don't know where I offended the old patriarch to be subjected to such a disaster!"
"No, it's not!" Old Master Ma hurriedly said, "This matter, this matter has nothing to do with me!"
"Whether it has to do with you or not, the old patriarch knows best. But shouldn't the old patriarch give me an explanation? Otherwise, it's unacceptable!" Liu Dai said coldly. "This matter is the old patriarch's fault!"
Old Master Ma clenched his fists, and after a long pause, hurriedly said, "This patriarch, this patriarch has nothing to explain. The governor can only say that this patriarch's discipline was not strict, but he cannot say that this matter has anything to do with this patriarch!"
"Well said, it has nothing to do with you!" Liu Dai slammed the table and said coldly, "Bring him to me, and I'll see who is so audacious as to lay hands on me!"
The limping man was forced to the ground by the guards on both sides. He tried to look up at Old Master Ma, but before he could react, his chin was grabbed. "Speak, who ordered you to attack!"
Old Master Ma's heart sank. Although he had clearly instructed the limping man, he couldn't be sure that the limping man wouldn't betray him in his panic.
"Think carefully before you speak, or your family will not rest in peace!" Old Master Ma seized the opportunity to add, "Tell us who sent you, and you might spare your life."
Old Master Ma let out an angry roar, which only earned him a glare from Liu Dai. Immediately, Old Master Ma fell silent, staring fixedly at the limping man.
The limping man knew exactly what Old Master Ma meant. He spat a mouthful of bloody phlegm onto Liu Dai's face and said coldly, "Bah, I just can't stand you, so I attacked you. Kill me if you dare."
Liu Dai silently wiped the blood from his face. With a slight movement of his finger, a burly man stepped forward and stomped on the limping man's left arm.
"Ah!" The limping man cried out and looked up at Liu Dai with hatred. "Why? You can live well, while I'm tortured to the point of being neither human nor ghost, almost dying at the hands of others. Do you know how my leg was broken?"
"Someone broke it alive for a bite of food," the limping man cursed. "Kill me and give me a quick end!"
This was also part of the plan that the limping man and Old Master Ma had agreed upon. If the truth was told directly, Liu Dai would definitely not believe it. Only the truth extracted under severe torture would be somewhat credible!
"You're quite a man, but you will die today!" Liu Dai waved his hand again, and the other arm was also instantly broken. The limping man glared at Liu Dai with hatred.
"Kill me, or I'll find a chance to kill you!" the limping man shouted. "If you have the guts, do it! Do it!"
"You have some skill, but you'll never have this chance!" Liu Dai ordered his men to break the limping man's legs and arms and said coldly, "Since you refuse to speak, I'll have to find a way. Your family and children might not be safe either!"
"Old Master Ma, I don't want to hold you responsible. Order your men to capture his family, and let this matter be over. Otherwise, you'll bear the consequences!"
Old Master Ma had always held the limping man's family as leverage, and he dared not think about what would happen if they were brought in. He instinctively resisted, "Your Excellency, the crime should not extend to one's family. How about..."
"I never realized Old Master Ma was so benevolent. In that case, it seems I'm just petty!" Liu Dai said sarcastically. "Is Old Master Ma really unwilling to act?"
Old Master Ma sighed heavily and could only explain, "It's not that I'm unwilling to act, but as far as I know, his entire family is dead. Otherwise, let this matter end here?"
Liu Dai's expression changed, and he pointed to his head, saying angrily, "Old Master Ma, do you see clearly? This is a head, not a rock. Who would believe such a statement? Since the whole family is dead, then let's open the coffin and whip the corpse. I don't believe he won't tell the truth."
"The deceased should be respected, Your Excellency!" Old Master Ma tried his best to retort. "Besides, the frequent wars in the past two years have made it difficult to remember where the ancestors were buried!"
"You don't remember? Excellent," Liu Dai laughed wildly. "You don't know where they were buried, but I know someone who knows very clearly. Why not let him come forward!"
"Who?" Old Master Ma asked hurriedly. "This is impossible. Absolutely no one can know."
"I heard that the Embroidered Uniform Guard under the King of Chu can investigate everything, but I've never seen them. I don't know if it's true or not. If Old Master Ma cannot make a decision, there's the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who can surely find out who sent this person and what they want!"
"Your Excellency, I think the Embroidered Uniform Guard also uses severe torture. Why not try harder? He might tell the truth!" Old Master Ma sighed heavily and gave a signal.
"Ouch, since the Embroidered Uniform Guard has such a reputation, let's give it a try. Take him away. Let's make a big show of it along the way, so everyone can see that if they want to act, they should consider whether they are worthy!" Liu Dai ordered without hesitation for his men to take him away.
The street was already bustling. Seeing a man being hoisted up like a dead dog, more people came to watch, but most of them sighed.
"He's already like this. What's the use of sending him to the Embroidered Uniform Guard? He'll just die anyway!"
"You can't say that. I heard that once you enter the Embroidered Uniform Guard, even death is very difficult. The most important thing is that you can't live and you can't die."
"I wonder how he offended the governor to suffer such a disaster."
"I heard it was an assassination attempt on the governor, and he was caught because it failed!"
The onlookers pieced together the story bit by bit. The limping man occasionally lifted his eyes to look, then his head sank heavily. After a while, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Liu Dai rode on his horse and said coldly, "I want to see if he has any family. Will they be sad and cry when they see you in this state!"
"As long as someone cries or can't bear to look, I will definitely let them have a good taste of what a disaster is!" Liu Dai tugged at the reins and said coldly, "You'd better pray that no one comes forward, or I will not let you off!"
"Your Excellency, if I tell the truth now, can I, can I!" the limping man weakly uttered, letting the rotten eggs on his face slide down.
"As long as I'm happy, what does it matter if I let you go? Speak, who wants my life!" Liu Dai said coldly. "Is it Old Master Ma? I've always suspected he wanted to harm me, so he specifically arranged you."
"No, it's not!" The limping man, barely breathing, said weakly, "It's, it's Old Master Zhou. He's jealous of the governor's high power, so, so he made me do it!"
"Don't treat me like an idiot. I'd believe you if you said it was the King of Chu today, but Old Master Zhou? It's impossible!" Liu Dai said coldly. "Do you have to die without a burial place before you're willing to tell the truth? I heard the Embroidered Uniform Guard has very effective methods!"
"No, it's not Old Master Ma!" the limping man said weakly.
"Whether it's him or not is not important. What's important is that I want to make someone do it, and they will do it. You had a chance but you didn't use it!" The limping man's face was suddenly slapped twice. "If you want to act, you probably mistook the person. You only thought I was weak and easy to bully!"
"I..." The limping man couldn't say a word, lying on the carriage, barely alive. If one didn't look closely, one might think it was a corpse.
"Old Master Ma, you've deceived me. Now that there's such a good opportunity, I will surely ruin your reputation!" Liu Dai gritted his teeth and said, "After you die, that spear will be mine. You're not good enough to fool me!"
They arrived at the King of Chu's mansion with music and fanfare. Ye Feng had already been informed, but there was no one at the entrance of the King of Chu's mansion!
"Go, knock on the door!" Liu Dai ordered without hesitation. The burly man stepped forward and knocked heavily on the gate, but there was no response.
"Your Excellency, perhaps the King of Chu is not at home, which is why there's no response. Otherwise, we..." the burly man said nervously and subserviently!
Before he could finish, the burly man was slapped hard. "What are you? You're telling me what to do? Keep knocking!"
As the burly man raised his head, the door suddenly opened. Lu Bu instinctively slapped him, sending the burly man flying backward, and Liu Dai's face was clearly not happy.
"I wonder who it is. So it's the governor. What brings you to visit the King of Chu today? Have you submitted a calling card? The King of Chu is busy with state affairs and probably doesn't have time to see you!" Lu Bu stretched and said coldly. "Please return, Governor, and visit another day!"
That's right, Lu Bu was slapping Liu Dai in the face, one after the other.
He had just arrived in Liangzhou. He hadn't paid a visit to Ye Feng or Emperor Ling. He went to the Ma family first. Coupled with the servant's report, every single action had touched Ye Feng's nerves.
"Make way, make way!" A voice came from afar. Before Liu Dai could turn around, he saw a tall horse rushing towards him. A beautiful woman on it quickly pulled the reins, narrowly avoiding a collision with Liu Dai's horse.
"What a beautiful woman! I wonder whose daughter she is!" Liu Dai thought to himself. He cupped his hands and said, "Greetings, young lady. I wonder, young lady..."
The beautiful woman smiled slightly. "Riding wildly in Liangzhou, I'm afraid I rode too fast and didn't startle you, sir?"
"No, no. If I were startled by a beauty like you, it would be my honor. May I ask for your name, age, and if you are married!"