My Sexy CEO Wife

He Hentian was tempted to go back on his word, but feared for his reputation. After much thought, he could only let out a long sigh, "Fine! I'll do a good deed just this once!"

That very afternoon, He Hentian released the captured civilians and dispatched a troop to eliminate bandits.

Gao Fei, who had been closely monitoring the situation from the shadows, breathed a sigh of relief. He was truly worried that He Hentian would renege on his promise. Now all was well—He Hentian had kept his word, releasing the captured civilians and even sending a large force out of the city to hunt down the bandits.

It was a significant progress!

As the saying goes, once you start, the rest becomes easier to handle.

After several encounters, Gao Fei had figured out He Hentian's pulse. He Hentian was a man who cared deeply about face and couldn't stand being goaded. Gao Fei made up his mind to provoke He Hentian with reverse psychology in the future, making him change little by little.

In the following days, while Gao Fei had people repair the City Lord's Mansion, he also soothed the civilians. He spent half of each day settling disputes and cases. In a few days, he had dealt with thousands of cases, most of which involved the abuse and humiliation of civilians by powerful figures. After Gao Fei thoroughly investigated these incidents, he punished the power-abusers severely—light punishments involved a beating with planks, serious ones included imprisonment, and for the most egregious, immediate beheading.

The disgruntled powerful figures went to He Hentian to complain, begging him to suppress Gao Fei. However, He Hentian rejected them all. He Hentian himself was in a bind, his hands were tied with evidence held by Gao Fei; he couldn't touch Gao Fei for at least a month.

"I assure you! After a month, I will kill Gao Fei and avenge you all!" He Hentian declared.

"Ah? We have to wait a month?"

"That's too long..."

"We can wait, but Gao Fei won't wait. He's acting like a madman, deliberately targeting us. Old Zhang and Old Wang have already been beheaded."

"Lord He, please, we beg you, help us."

A dozen men in lavish clothes knelt on the ground, pleading with He Hentian to deal with Gao Fei.

"I'm in a difficult position," sighed He Hentian. "I made a bet with Gao Fei that I wouldn't interfere with whatever he does for a month." He paused before continuing, "And I even put it in writing. If I back out, Gao Fei will publicize the document and my reputation will be ruined."

"But..."

"No buts! Just endure for a few more days. Once the month is up, I will naturally take care of Gao Fei. Then I'll capture him and hand him over to you for punishment."

"We're afraid we won't make it till then."

"Don't be so pessimistic," He Hentian waved his hand. "It's not as bad as you think. Just lay low for the time being and try not to provoke Gao Fei."

"Who dares to provoke Gao Fei now?" said one of the powerful figures with a wry smile. "Even Lord He is avoiding him, and we dare not offend him. The problem is that Gao Fei is breathing down our necks, incessantly picking on us. We really can't take it anymore."

"Those lowlifes are rebelling, daring to bring complaints to Gao Fei—we should kill them!"

"Sooner or later I'll kill that scum!"

"Lord He, we've followed you for so many years, with utmost loyalty. Can you bear to watch us being humiliated by Gao Fei?"

The group of powerful figures played the pity card to gain He Hentian's sympathy.

He Hentian pondered for a moment. "Alright, I'll talk to Gao Fei. I'll ask him not to make things too hard for you." Truth be told, He Hentian didn't want to see Gao Fei, because that guy was too harsh with his words, which always infuriated He Hentian to no end whenever they met.

But he knew that if he did not speak to Gao Fei, these powerful figures would certainly lose heart.

"Once Lord He steps in, that Gao Fei fellow will surely admit defeat," one of them said confidently.

"Now we're finally safe."

"Even if Gao Fei had ten times the nerve, he wouldn't dare to challenge Lord He!"

A bunch of influential figures started to shower him with excessive flattery.

"Enough, go back and wait for news," He Hentian waved his hand, "It's as I said before, just bear with it for a while. Once the one-month deadline is over, I will naturally take care of Gao Fei." After consoling them for a bit, He Hentian sent the group of elites on their way.

He Hentian furrowed his brow in deep thought for a moment, then rose to his feet and walked outside.

...

City Lord's Mansion.

Inside the main hall.

Gao Fei looked at He Hentian with a beaming smile, "An unexpected guest, what a rare guest! Tell me, what brings you to me?"

"I hope you can draw the line," said He Hentian calmly, "Don't go too far."

"Draw the line? Too far?" Gao Fei blinked in pretended confusion, asking, "What do you mean? I don't understand. Can you clarify?"

"Don't play dumb with me," He Hentian snorted, "In order to win over the public's heart, you didn't hesitate to make those elites a target. Isn't that a bit too selfish?"

"You're wrong," Gao Fei shook his head, "The reason I dealt with those elites is that they broke the law and did evil deeds. If they had been honest and kept to themselves, I would have no reason to punish them."

"Who can claim to be perfect? You can't just beat them down for some small mistakes they've made before. That's not right."

"Small mistakes?" Gao Fei scoffed, "If they were really just small mistakes, I definitely wouldn't have bothered them!" At this point, his tone turned chilly, "The elites I dealt with are full of sins, committed countless misdeeds, and lost all humanity. They deserved to die."

"You..."

"He Hentian! Why do you always break the rules, do your words count for anything at all? Do you have any shame?"

"You..."

"Just reminding you, the one-month deadline isn't up yet."

"...Gao Fei! You're playing with fire, and if you're not careful, you'll burn yourself to ashes."

"My conscience is clear. Even if I were to be burned to ashes, I wouldn't regret it."

"Fine, fine, fine! Gao Fei, you're tough! We'll wait and see! Once the betting deadline is up, see how I'll deal with you." He Hentian angrily flicked his sleeve and stormed off.

"Farewell, I won't see you out." Gao Fei's mocking voice came from behind, leaving He Hentian's face turning green with rage.

In the following days, Gao Fei continued to act as he pleased, paying no heed to He Hentian's stance. Whenever he spotted an elite figure erring, he would take them down without hesitation, and for those who dared resist, he would execute them outright. No mercy shown!

As the saying goes, one man's joy is another's sorrow. Gao Fei had the common people's back, so of course, the populace was happy, but those elite figures were angry and prepared to unite against Gao Fei.

Some even sent assassins to kill Gao Fei, but they all failed in the end.

Gao Fei's retaliation was fierce. The day after an assassination attempt, he would unleash a furious counterattack, arresting everyone associated with the assassin and throwing them into the dungeon. Before long, the prisons were overcrowded. In Heavenly Water City, where there were many commoners and many elites, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that if all the city's elites were captured and charged, there likely wouldn't be a single case of injustice.