Chapter 542: Never Leave Anyone an Escape
The other Liu clan members couldn’t keep up with Liu Huai’s pace and panic was already obvious on their faces.
Their hearts were pounding in their chests.
The King of Nanling, Feng Qingbai! He was the formidable enemy that their clan has failed to defeat for years!
Now that he took a shot again, they had no clue what method he would use to deal with the Liu clan!
As for the family genealogy, who among the Liu clan members present did not know about it?
A moment ago, they still held belief that they had a chance of winning and cried injustice in front of His Majesty.
If things were really torn apart and the secret was revealed, then they would have no tears to cry even if they wanted to.
This was a capital felony of deceiving His Majesty that was tantamount to beheading!
”Come in, Elder Jiu enter the hall!”
The moment Feng Qingbai spoke the name Elder Jiu, the faces of all the officials present and even the two Liu families turned inexplicable.
They had never heard of this character.
Liu Yusheng was even more surprised. She had asked Feng Qingbai many times before, but he never revealed a word about it.
He kept things tight.
Who the hell is this Elder Jiu?
Does he have the ability to identify the authenticity of the Liu clan’s genealogy?
Soon, the person who made everyone speculate appeared at the entrance of the throne room.
A shriveled old man.
He was dressed in ordinary coarse gray clothes, and his gray beard was sloping around, looking extremely unkempt.
The most eye-catching of all was his pair of small eyes. From the moment he entered the hall, they kept wandering around, shining brilliantly.
He looked more rustic than the Liu elders from Xinghua Village. In front of The Hall of Supreme Harmony and facing the Imperial Court as well as the Son of Heaven, he wasn’t at all daunted. He was smiling, as if he was wandering in his own backyard, leisurely and relaxed.
”This lowly one greets Your Majesty.” When the old man entered the hall, he bowed to Feng Mohan. He at least knew that he should bow in front of the Emperor.
After this greeting, his blazing eyes fell on Liu Yusheng, and when he saw her, he immediately brightened up even more. He leaned over to Liu Yusheng’s side and said, “Miss, did you brew the nourishing wine in the capital? Do you have a few jar for this old man?”
Xiao Lan said that as long as he entered The Hall of Supreme Harmony, he could meet the little girl who brewed the wine.
There were only two girls present who could be called little girls. One has a big belly, so Elder Jiu immediately crossed her out. That was one little girl down.
Then, there was only one left.
The smile on the old man’s face grew increasingly flattering.
Liu Yusheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Xiao Lan? Did Wei Lan tell him that there was wine here?
Seeing the old man’s greedy look, Liu Yusheng understood immediately. No wonder he was called Elder Jiu.
When Wei Lan left the Liu family compound, the wine he took from his room was probably used to bribe him.
”If Elder wants to drink, you will have to wait until the trial in the palace ends and enter the manor. For now, face His Majesty. I didn’t bring any wine with me.” Liu Yusheng chuckled lightly.
”Okay, okay, it’s a deal. When we go out, you have to give me a drink!”
”Okay.”
Elder Jiu’s behavior in front of the court ministers made many people frown. However, he was the person the King of Nanling invited, and he was an important witness in this trial. Hence, no one said a word for a while.
His Majesty sat on the throne without making a sound, and it was not their turn to take over.
It was one thing to disapprove of this behavior in their heart, but on the face of it, no one was foolish enough to be presumptuous in front of His Majesty. Otherwise, it was akin to declaring to the world that they looked down upon His Majesty.
His Majesty might be easy to deceive, but the Regent wasn’t.
”Liu Xue’er? Are you Elder Jiu that the Regent mentioned?” Feng Mohan waited for the two people below to chat for a while before speaking, but he still left Aunt Liu some respect. “Do you know what is happening in the throne room?”
Elder Jiu looked up at the young emperor, smiled and nodded, his beard bobbing. “This humble one knows. Xiao Lan informed me before I came. I heard that someone wants to verify the authenticity of the handwritings in a genealogy. This old man is proficient at it. In our mountains in Southern Hunan, this old man makes a living by making handwriting look old.”
He copied a few books and sold them as ancient books.
He had plenty of customers, and he had repeat customers over time. The money he earned was enough for him to drink two jars of wine a day.
”I see, let Elder Jiu take a look at this genealogy. Maybe he can tell the old and new handwriting on it.” Feng Mohan handed over the genealogy he was holding.
Some of the Liu clan members, who remained kneeling on the ground as they were not instructed to get up, were already crouching and began to tremble.
Liu Huai’s face was also tense and ugly, and his heart was beating wildly as he watched the genealogy being handed to Elder Jiu’s hands.
The speed of his heartbeat even caused a ringing in his ears, and black and white snowflakes began to appear in front of his eyes.
He has never seen Elder Jiu’s ability, but since Feng Qingbai dared to invite him up, he was definitely not a person without value.
He was really panicked at this moment.
Earlier, he kept rebuking Liu Zhixia for slander, crying in front of His Majesty and complaining about his grievances, saying that he would never dare to deceive him.
When the right time comes, he could add sophistry, and the Liu family would be slaughtered!
Elder Jiu took over the genealogy, opened it page by page, held the genealogy up to the light that penetrated outside the hall, and narrowed his eyes to examine it carefully.
Then he took out something from his pocket and started smearing on one of the pages.
At this time, not only the Liu clan members, but even Grandpa and Grandma Liu were both nervous, stretching their necks and staring at Elder Master’s movements.
Meanwhile, in the Qingning Palace in the harem, Consort Liu had already learned of the happenings in the courtroom.
When she heard that Feng Qingbai invited Elder Jiu to enter the palace, she anxiously sat up from the bed, and without even bothering to hold her neck that was not yet healed, she ordered sternly, “Help this Concubine, dress, dress! Go, the Hall of Supreme Harmony!”
Whenever Feng Qingbai made a move, he never left a way out!
He invited Elder Jiu to come, which meant that this man could destroy the entire Liu clan.
Once the Liu clan has really collapsed, she would gain none at all. Without money to support her, how could she plan? How could she support that bunch of forces and command them to do things for her?!
The Liu clan couldn’t be finished!
Absolutely not!
She must stop it!
After wearing a decent coat, she found it too late to comb her messy hair neatly. With the help of the palace maid and eunuch, she rushed to the Throne Room.
She feared that if she arrived a step late, there would be no way back.
In the main hall at this time, the position where Elder Jiu smeared has begun to change.
The ink, which was the same color as other handwriting before, began to gradually become darker and clearer.
”I didn’t expect the method of the Old Liu clan to be used in their family tree. If your ancestor were to know that his descendants had changed the family tree without authorization, I wonder if he would pop out of the coffin in rage for such an absolute display of unfilial piety.” Elder Jiu showed the genealogy in front of everyone. He then shook his head and clicked his tongue in disappointment.
”This culprit of this is not talented, yet made a show of his shame so arrogantly. Just take a look at it. If anyone wants to make some handwriting look old, just come to me. My price is fair, and I always deal honestly with my customers!”
No one had time to pay attention to what Elder Jiu was saying. Everyone’s attention was fixed on the page. After reading it, their eyes widened instantly.
They saw the change on the original ink on the page. The ink on a paragraph of the text was clearly brand new, and the difference was glaringly obvious compared with the following others!
Peek-Aboo 
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