Richest Man: Divine-Grade Reconstruct System Chapter 1020 - 980: Fragrance Wafts Through the City Lord’s Mansion

His gaze swept downwards once more.

All his loyal followers had been apprehended, and the City Lord’s Mansion, once as opulent as the imperial palace, was no longer his domain.

He was utterly consumed by regret, his intestines twisting with anguish.

If the heavens granted him another opportunity, he swore he would never again be so haughty and domineering; he would certainly lay low while wielding his authority.

And this City Lord’s Mansion—what was the point of constructing it so grandly?

In the end, was it not still destined to be handed over to another?

All in all, he had resided here for a mere half-year.

Indeed, this City Lord’s Mansion had been completed less than six months prior, and he had only moved in a few months ago. Yet, in these short months, he hadn't even managed to explore every nook of Chengdu Prefecture before it vanished into smoke.

For the first time, this colossal residence felt profoundly desolate and sorrowful.

This was a stark contrast to his initial aspirations. When he first embarked on the construction of this City Lord’s Mansion, how spirited and vigorous he had been, how arrogant and imperious; one could say his eyes had already ascended to the heavens.

At that time, capitalizing on the strife between Prince Ning and the Right Prince, he had seized the moment to amass immense wealth and garner the allegiance of numerous influential nobles.

But now? What had become of him?

Heh, by the time dawn breaks tomorrow, people with grievances against him will likely be lining up endlessly, won't they?

By then, let alone the Right Prince passing judgment—even if each person merely spat once, they could drown him.

After all, no one knew better than he the extent of his transgressions.

The sheer number of heaven-defying, conscience-lacking deeds he had committed—while he couldn't recall each one precisely, he knew it was an astronomically large figure.

The count of common folk whose lives were extinguished due to his actions was undoubtedly another staggering number.

Merely these figures alone—once they reached the Right Prince’s ears—would guarantee not a single favorable outcome for him.

Precisely because he grasped this reality, because he perceived it so acutely, he had already resigned himself to his fate. It was for this very reason that, to avoid enduring humiliation, he resolved to end his own life.

Only through this path could he perhaps evade the ensuing insults and the agonies inflicted upon his flesh. Contemplating this, he immediately thrust out his tongue, intending to bite down with all his might.

However, as he attempted to extend his tongue, he was stunned to find himself immobilized—his mouth had been stuffed shut by someone.

He couldn't even manage to dislodge the obstruction with his tongue.

A rope had been tightly bound around the gag, sealing his mouth shut.

It was only at this precise moment that he truly experienced a sorrow so profound it left him aching to weep without tears.

Naturally, Lin Yi had foreseen all of this long ago. For an individual so steeped in sin, he certainly wouldn't be inclined to await tomorrow's torment. Therefore, he would undoubtedly opt to meet his end prematurely.

Consequently, Lin Yi had already made meticulous arrangements in advance.

It could be said that as things stood, for this Lord Liu, unless Lin Yi gave the word, there was absolutely no possibility for him to bring about his own "resolution."

On this matter, those who conducted interrogations would undoubtedly ensure it. Speaking of Lord Liu, after operating for so long, could it be that he possessed no trusted subordinates whatsoever?

Of course, that was an impossibility.

It could be asserted that within this city, Lord Liu commanded the loyalty of no fewer than a hundred confidants, who occupied every conceivable position.

The least significant among them held the rank of soldiers within the army.

But let us not forget, following Lin Yi’s decree, those individuals eager to accrue merit showed absolutely no leniency in their arrests.

To say nothing of officials—even their own comrades, provided they had been associated with Lord Liu, were now all bound and captured.

After all, Lord Liu’s prolonged reign of arrogance and tyranny had indirectly nurtured an entire retinue of equally overbearing subordinates.

Here, Lord Liu was akin to the heavens, their ultimate backer, causing them to walk with their noses perpetually in the air each day.

Even the soldiers favored by Lord Liu within the army had developed an extremely domineering demeanor.

It could be said that within the army, even their immediate superiors dared not lay a hand on them; their standing far surpassed that of their officers.

Of course, this was their status within the army. When present before Lord Liu, they exhibited an unusual degree of docility.

This had led Lord Liu to persistently believe they remained his operatives within the army—his spies—and of the most inconspicuous, least noticeable variety at that.

Little did he know that, due to his own arrogance, these individuals had long since been regarded by everyone as living ancestors awaiting worship.

They were adept at the art of feigning one thing to his face while acting differently behind his back, having mastered this deception flawlessly.

Consequently, when the moment arrived to make arrests, a thorough investigation was barely necessary—everyone could be apprehended in one fell swoop.

It was precisely for this reason that Lord Liu’s entire faction was eradicated in one go, not sparing even the lowest of the low.

Had Lord Liu foreseen such an outcome, he likely would never have selected these particular individuals as his informants.

He had employed them to help monitor the situation within the army, yet he never anticipated these men would leverage his influence to flaunt their power and act with unchecked impunity.

This perfectly encapsulated the old adage: when the top is corrupt, the bottom will surely follow.

The quality of the soldiers invariably reflects the character of their commander; this is an undeniable truth.

In stark contrast, setting aside these men, the womenfolk were treated with considerably more leniency.

Instead of being bound like sticky rice dumplings and forcibly removed, their hands and feet were secured, and they were instructed to sit along the outer walls of the City Lord's Mansion.

Despite being women and children, Lin Yi understood that such women were undoubtedly accustomed to bullying the common people during ordinary times.

Therefore, Lin Yi resolved that they would face a joint trial on the following day. As long as anyone stepped forward to press charges against them, they would face punishment regardless of their gender or age.

If any genuinely had kind hearts and had never wronged anyone, Lin Yi would ultimately show them clemency.

Time trickled by, and Lin Yi did not return to sleep or rest. He simply pulled a chair outside the City Lord's Mansion and sat there, observing the surroundings.

The soldiers were incessantly on the move, a whirlwind of activity.

Having toiled through the entire night, their hunger was palpable.

In response, Lin Yi casually gestured, commanding that pots be set up and fires be lit just outside the City Lord’s Mansion.

Within the span of an hour, tantalizing aromas began to permeate the air.

The question lingered: whence came such a delightful fragrance?

To be continued....