what?
Cobb was stunned.
Before "that incident" happened, when Augustus was still alive, he knew all the things that Augustus did to reduce his power as a lord and seek more benefits for himself, such as bribing Rosago, the former priest of the church, and withholding the antidote for the fever from the superior church.
This Baron Lionsmith does have some courage and bravery. He dares to try unprecedented areas, such as condescending to do business and set up factories despite his noble status. It is not an ordinary person who can do such unorthodox things.
But these little tricks and cleverness cannot shake one's status and power.
So what if you do business and set up a factory? No matter how rich you are, you are just a businessman. Without noble bloodline, orthodox inheritance, and recognition from the church, it is all empty and can be shattered with a little trickery.
As for playing dirty tricks...ha, even Augustus can play dirty tricks, so why can't a lord like me do it?
He wanted to take advantage of the arrival of the inspection envoy from the superior church to expose the chaos in Stio to the church and throw all the responsibility onto himself, thereby reducing the church's evaluation of him... Did he really think he could do it?
In terms of connections, Cobb has connections in the East Woshu Cathedral, and the envoys sent by him might be his acquaintances. He could just have a meal with them, give them some gifts, or go hunting with them. Augustus's schemes and tricks would be meaningless.
Therefore, he was too lazy to care about the various actions this guy took in the city, whether overt or covert. Anyway, no matter how much trouble he took, it would not involve him, so he just let this guy mess around with the lower-class people on his own.
Why is Lunxi asking this?
Cobb frowned and nodded hesitantly:
"I know a little about what the Lionsmith did... It was just a despicable act that desecrated the bloodline of the nobility. It's nothing to worry about."
Although he was a little surprised as to why the other party suddenly asked such a question, he still chose to tell the truth. After all, in his eyes, this was not something worth avoiding.
Lunxi seemed to have expected such an answer. She nodded slightly without any surprise and said coldly:
"You should have been able to stop it, but you just watched."
Hearing this, Cobb's eyebrows rose directly into his hairline:
"Lunxi, you don't want to accuse me of inaction regarding Augustus' crimes?"
Chapter 423: The Garbage Dump of History, Please! (Part )
Lancy pursed her lips, stared at Cobb with her green eyes, and said nothing, as if what he said hit the mark.
Seeing her reaction, Cobb almost laughed out loud. He suppressed the upturned corners of his mouth and said in a kind tone of an elder teaching a younger generation:
"Lunxi, you were Edward's rich daughter before. You were too young, too naive, and sometimes childish, but that's fine. For a girl of your age, it's normal to like to play and behave capriciously.
"But now that you have inherited the title and become a noble with legitimate blood and a legitimate name, your every word and action concerns the honor of your family and the face of the church. So there are some things... it's better for me to teach you."
With his hands behind his waist, he paced slowly along the bedroom route and soon reached the door. However, his expression was much calmer and his tone was full of confidence, as if the situation was under his control.
"I know everything that Augustus did. There is no doubt that he did something wrong. Whether it was withholding church resources, bribing church pastors, or colluding with gangs to hire bandits, these are crimes that are difficult to write off."
He spread his hands and put on a helpless expression:
"But why should I go to so much trouble to punish him? The Lionsmith is the most powerful noble in Stione besides me, but he is just a baron who makes money by using petty tricks, and he can't cause any big trouble.
"I don't need to make any countermeasures. All I need to do is to mention it to the higher-level church at the right time, and all his conspiracies and tricks will be wiped out. This is also the most reasonable and appropriate way to deal with it.
"Lunxi, this society is not the fairy tale world in heroic dramas. Not all 'evildoers' must be brought under the sun to face justice. In many cases, if we just let them go or do a little trick in secret, they will die..."
"Perhaps you have misunderstood something, Viscount Double-Headed Axe."
Lunxi suddenly interrupted his speech which sounded very convincing:
"I'm not here to listen to your talk about checks and balances, nor am I here to debate ideas with you. I'm here to do one thing."
"Hmm?" Cobb's expression changed slightly.
"Let the guilty be punished."
Lunxi said, shaking her hand slightly, and a cold light suddenly appeared in her palm.
It was a dagger of exquisite shape and fine workmanship.
"Wait...wait, what are you going to do!?"
Cobb's expression changed instantly, and he stepped back several steps in panic, leaning his back against the door:
"Lunxi! Stop messing around! Calm down! That's not how you joke!"
Without saying a word, Lunxi turned away from the wall and approached him with a cold face. His steps were not urgent, but extremely firm, without any sign of surrender or concession.
"You, don't come over here! Help! Someone, help! Someone, help!!"
Seeing the dagger with a cold and dazzling light swaying and approaching, Cobb suddenly panicked. He no longer cared about the so-called aristocratic etiquette and shouted desperately at the top of his voice.
This is the master bedroom of the lord's castle. The security is extremely tight. There are night guards stationed and patrolling in the nearby corridors. Even if Lunxi relied on spiritual means to hide his whereabouts and sneak in here, he would definitely be noticed if he shouted like this!
He didn't raise those righteous warriors for nothing. With the hearing ability of these second-level transcendents... if he shouted so loudly, they would definitely be able to hear it!
"Don't waste your voice. They can't hear you."
As if seeing through his plan, Lunxi said coldly, while reaching into his coat pocket with his other hand again and taking out a scroll.
This is an unfolded scroll, made of sheepskin, with a yellowed surface and a slight smell of decay. It is obvious that it has accumulated a deep history and time.
She pinched one end with her fingers and let it hang down naturally. The side facing outwards was covered with densely packed complex symbols. The handwriting was already blurred, but it still flashed with extremely subtle spiritual light.
There were traces of burning at the bottom of the scroll, and they were extending upwards at a very slow speed, turning this strange "parchment" into ashes inch by inch.
However, at the current speed, it will take at least five minutes to burn it completely.
"The 'Silencing Scroll' can create a movable 'field' that prevents sounds within a certain range from being transmitted."
Lunxi slowly put away the scroll without slowing down his pace. His tone of voice was so calm, as if he was just chatting casually:
"No matter how loudly you cry for help, the guards won't be able to hear you."
Looking at the sheepskin scroll that was glowing and burning very slowly in her arms, Cobb's steps froze and beads of sweat flowed from his forehead.
"Scroll of Silence" is also a disposable A-level talisman!
This guy, in order to come to me... he used up two spiritual items of inestimable value at once...
At this moment, he realized the firmness of Lun Xi's determination.
This crazy girl is serious and not joking... He felt his scalp tingling.
"Lunxi...Lunxi, don't be confused, listen to me first! Listen to me!"
Cobb supported himself with his hands, his mind working at high speed, trying his best to keep his voice steady:
"I know you are angry at me for watching Augustus commit evil and not exposing his crimes! I apologize! I repent! I promise that from now on I will never tolerate any evil that occurs in the city. I swear to the Holy Grace!"
He believed that Lun Xi had lost her mind because of her stubborn and childish sense of justice. Although she looked cold now, she was crazy inside.
You shouldn't reason with her at a time like this. Just go along with her wishes, coax her, comfort her, and prevent her from suddenly going crazy and killing herself.
Once I reunite with the guards...everything will be easy!
His brain was working at a high intensity, emptying out all the ink in his stomach and speaking rapidly:
"I will immediately order people to eliminate the illegal organizations in Stione, the Ghost Wolf, and similar gangs. I promise that within a week, these stinking rats that are causing trouble everywhere will be wiped out!
"There may be remnants of the Lionsmith family left. I will do my best to collect clues and submit them to the Holy Temple, striving to make this evil family receive the most severe punishment..."
"You still don't understand at all."
With these cold words, Lancy interrupted Cobb's chatter for the second time.
The lord of the city of Stio cast a trembling and panicked look, only to see that the face that had always remained indifferent and calm... now showed a trace of sadness for some reason.
"In your eyes, what you consider your 'sin' is just 'standing by and watching evil happen'?"
Lunxi's pace did not slow down, nor did it speed up, but it added a bit of determination:
"How can someone like you change? You can't change."
Chapter 424 The garbage dump of history, please!
Next chapter will be updated at 8pm.
======================
"You...what else do you want me to do?!"
Cobb's face was as white as snow, without a trace of blood:
"Since I secretly funded Edward's antidote for the fever, can't you give me a chance to atone for my sin?"
Until now, he really couldn't understand...how did he offend this mentally ill young lady?
At first, he thought that the reason why Luncy came to call him to task was because he had stood idly by and watched Augustus commit various crimes.
Although such a reason is naive, extreme and unreasonable, it is not completely incomprehensible.
At least as long as we assume that Lun Xi is "a paranoid who has been reading heroic stories since childhood and whose thinking has been ingrained in his mind and cannot tolerate even a grain of sand in his eyes", everything makes sense.
But now it seems...the real reason for her "visit" is not like this?
How else could it be? Cobb racked his brains but couldn't figure it out.
"A chance to redeem myself..."
Hearing this phrase, Lunxi suddenly sneered, and that smile contained both sarcasm and sadness:
"I give you a chance to atone for your sins, but who will give them a chance to start over?"
"They? Who?" Cobb was stunned.
"them."
Lancy stretched out her hand and pointed in a certain direction. Cobb was about to look along her arm, but she turned her shoulder and moved her outstretched hand around half a circle, with her fingertips drawing an arc in the air.
"They," she repeated the ambiguous pronoun.
"Who are they? I promise, I will give them the best supplement!"
Cobb seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw and spoke hurriedly.
"Citizens who died at the hands of robbers, people whose families were destroyed by the high-priced fake antidote, small vendors who were tormented by the plague and separated from their families, civilians who were forced to become bandits due to the plague, serfs who were abandoned by nobles and knights because they were infected with the plague and could not work, and tenants who could not pay the tax and had all their property confiscated by the tax officials..."
Lunxi fluently reported a long list of identities, which made Cobb stunned. Finally, she added word by word:
“You are not the one who sits and watches evil happen, you are the one who does evil.”
"Wait...you're saying that I feel sorry for these untouchables?!"
Cobb was stunned for a long time before he asked in disbelief:
"You are a noble, but you are going to kill me just because of the lives of a bunch of lowly people!?"
What a joke, in the end this little bitch wasn’t angry because she didn’t care about Augustus’ crimes, but was angry because of the deaths and injuries of the pariahs in her own territory?
How can this be true?!
He is the master of this territory. Logically, everything on this land is the personal property of him and several nobles. It is natural that the people in the territory will suffer casualties, just like things will wear out after being used for a long time. It is a natural law that is self-evident.
Moreover, the city of Stio alone has a population of more than 10,000. Including the farmlands in the west district and the villages in the suburbs, there are at least close to 5,000 to 6,000 households and 30,000 people in his jurisdiction.
With so many people, if dozens or hundreds of people die every month due to various natural disasters and man-made calamities, is that a big deal? !
Even if there had been no fever and Augustus's little actions, these things would have happened all the time and were purely natural phenomena.
It has been like this for hundreds and thousands of years, and there have never been any major problems, let alone anyone raising any objections.
Just because of this kind of thing, she thought she had committed a crime worthy of death? !
The lives of the untouchables can be compared with one's own life! ?
"That's why I said, how can someone like you change?"
Lunxi had already walked up to him and looked at the lord's face which was distorted by extreme shock and anger. He sighed lightly, and the dagger shining with cold light flew and spun in his palm.
Although her body is not as long, wide and tall as Cobb's, she still gives him a great sense of oppression:
"I should have given up my fantasy long ago..."
"Hey, hey, hey, stop messing around!
"If you dare to do anything to me, the Iris Family will be completely stripped of their nobility status! And from now on, they will be placed on the pillar of shame in East Oshu County! Do you want this family that has inherited orthodoxy and glory since the founding of the country to end up like this—"
Facing Cobb's threat, Lancy just smiled:
"No need to bother you. I have dismissed all the servants in the family and distributed all the property in the warehouse and the manor to them. Now they have already left Stio with all the property.
"From now on, there will no longer be any Iris family. There will only be me, Lunxi, without the surname 'Lunxi'.
