Li Fu raised his head, glanced arrogantly at the servant, and said calmly, "I hold the title of Hereditary Baron. You are merely an attendant to a nobleman. Your master has yet to speak, so what right do you have to talk? You have no manners whatsoever. It’s truly hard to imagine that someone like you is an attendant to a noble lord." As Li Fu spoke, he glanced at the ashen-faced Cui Ze and gave a slight bow. "My apologies. I’m a very direct person, but this servant of yours... is truly unimpressive."

Cui Ze shot a hateful look at Li Fu, then roared at the servant, who had his head lowered in utter shame, "Get the hell out of my sight!" With that, he turned his cold, sinister gaze back to Li Fu and said icily, "There. I have disciplined my ignorant servant, oh honorable Lord Secretary... Now, can we trouble you to fetch the Lord City Lord?"

Li Fu elegantly raised his head, gazing at the group of men with their hostile expressions, and said faintly, "My apologies, the Lord City Lord is not in."

"Why you... Mmph! Mmph!"

Huang Qiang had just gotten two words out when Li Nan clamped a hand over his mouth and shot him a fierce glare. He then turned to Li Fu with a slight smile. "Greetings. Since the Lord City Lord is not present, I believe you will suffice. We need you to issue an official document certifying that our goods were robbed. Afterward, we must seek an audience with His Majesty the King and request that he deliver justice for us."

Although Li Fu didn’t know the full story, that didn’t stop him from speculating. He was, after all, a very intelligent nobleman.

He first sized up the nobles with their sour expressions and their servants, whose expressions were even sourer. Then he recalled the rumors he’d heard that morning—that the city’s three great noble families had been robbed. ’What wonderful news,’ he thought. ’The Lord will surely be delighted to hear it!’

Indeed, this was all Li Fu needed to know. He couldn’t care less who had robbed these nobles or what had been taken. All that mattered was knowing the Lord’s stance on the matter.

So, Li Fu shrugged helplessly and spread his hands. "I’m terribly sorry, but I only arrived here two days ago and am still unfamiliar with procedures. Besides... I don’t have the authority to issue that document. You’ll all have to wait for the Lord City Lord to return."

"Who the hell do you think you are?!" Huang Qiang shoved Li Nan aside, his massive frame making the ground tremble slightly as he stomped forward. He roared, "I’m telling you... if that bastard Mo Qing doesn’t show his face, I’ll tear this whole place down!"

"Hmph. Huang Qiang, you have some nerve!"

A cold snort echoed from outside as Mo Qing strode forward from behind the crowd. While the three nobles and their men dared to throw their weight around with Li Fu, they didn’t have the guts to do the same to Mo Qing. They hadn’t dared to cross him even before he became City Lord, let alone now that he had pledged his loyalty to Ling Xiao and become second only to one man in all of Penzes City.

"Brother Mo... we’ve been waiting for you for ages. For the sake of our past friendship, please don’t make things difficult for us with this document!" Li Nan said to Mo Qing, forcing a smile. His expression was the very picture of sincerity. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The other two nobles, Cui Ze and Huang Qiang, couldn’t bring themselves to smile at Mo Qing. After all, all three families had been robbed blind the night before, with each losing at least half their assets! The fact that Li Nan could still manage a smile at a time like this spoke volumes about the depths of his cunning.

Mo Qing wore an apologetic expression. "My apologies, Brother Li, but as for this document... I’m afraid I really can’t issue it for you."

"Oh? And why is that?" Li Nan asked, not seeming the least bit anxious, his expression nonchalant.

"An official document for such a major loss is typically issued only when nobles suffer losses due to the negligence of the local Great Lord, which allows them to bypass the Lord and seek an audience with His Majesty the King in the Imperial Capital. However, last night’s events do not fall into that category, do they? First, the identities of those bandits have yet to be determined, as has who instructed them to act so boldly. Second, this was not a result of the Lord’s negligence; it was simply an accident!" Mo Qing spoke with casual eloquence. "Finally, and most importantly, the case... has been solved. The bandits who robbed you... are all dead."

Mo Qing’s face was a mask of helplessness and regret. "I am deeply sympathetic to your losses, gentlemen. However, the nation has its laws, and this domain has its rules. This land is the Lord’s fief. The Lord himself is very concerned about last night’s events and has urged me... to make those bandits confess as quickly as possible. We must find out who would dare to be so audacious as to rob the property of nobles. The Young Master has said... once the mastermind is found, they will be shown no mercy!"

Mo Qing’s words were resolute, his expression overflowing with righteousness. Li Fu was so moved by the Lord City Lord’s noble character that he even pretended to wipe a tear from his eye, adding, "With such a wonderful Lord City Lord, what do you have to fear? Go on home, all of you. The Lord City Lord and the Lord will surely give you a satisfactory explanation!"

Mo Qing shot an appreciative glance at this down-on-his-luck noble from a neighboring country, thinking, ’This man has a bright future. He’s the perfect tool for keeping the city’s other nobles in line. It couldn’t be better, haha!’

Cui Ze and the others were seething with a rage so intense they could only storm away in a fury. In their hearts, their hatred for Ling Xiao and Mo Qing had reached a point of no return, so deep it could never be resolved. Ling Xiao’s arrival had first cut off their greatest source of income, then shattered their alliance, and had now torn out their very foundations. Although the three noble families were still powerful, they were now hardly any different from the city’s other nobles.