Chapter 48: The Quarrel in the Public Hall

  Die for you to see

  Before Peng Yin arrived and Li Peinan rushed over, Han Xiang was taken to the county yamen's flower hall as the primary witness. The clerk summoned a doctor to examine Han Xiang, who sat trembling in her chair, refusing to speak. After examining her for a moment, the doctor couldn't find any reason for the fear in her eyes and only told the clerk that she was fine, just needing rest.

  No matter how the accountant asked, Han Xiang did not utter a word.

  Because she didn't dare to say anything related to the case. Although those things were etched in her mind and couldn't be forgotten. If nothing unexpected happened, after the adults who would review the case ascended to the hall, she would also have to pull out the only hairpin on her head, a silver pin with pearls, and stab it fiercely into her own neck, dying in front of the people in the public hall to deepen the impartiality of her words.

  Even if she was about to die, she couldn't clearly remember how she ended up like this. She only remembered the young master wearing a green robe, with a pair of warm eyes like spring, sitting in front of her, saying very clearly: Remember every step, can't be wrong.

  The young master's voice was warm and gentle, like a spring breeze blowing across the lake, thawing out the snowmelt that had been frozen all winter. She listened to his soft tone, unable to detect even a hint of malice, and before she knew it, she felt herself drifting off to sleep. It wasn't until the mud walls couldn't withstand the chill of the ice blocks, piercing her skin, that she was able to wake up, only to realize that she was still trapped in her nightmare, forced to eke out a miserable existence amidst the freezing air that filled the room every day.

  The source of what she could remember with a smile was from the night when she asked about the account book news from Bisu. She was afraid that there would be too many mouths in the brothel, and it would be revealed that she had made a mistake again, so she wouldn't have a place to settle down and make a living. In a flurry, she grasped Bisu's arm and smiled at the madam, saying she wanted to go out with the official. Afterwards, the sedan chair she and Bisu were riding in was carried into a large mansion with green jade tiles. Several sturdy sedan bearers used sticks to hurry them into the main hall and blocked the only way out.

  With a faint smile, she finally understood that the sedan chair bearers had been waiting outside the brothel specifically for them. A young nobleman wearing a snow-white undergarment and holding a green silk fan emerged from behind a row of luxurious peony-patterned screens, looked at her, and smiled slightly: "Miss has connections with Lord Bi, to avoid any mistakes, we can only invite Miss along as well."

  With a forced smile, he hastily asked: "What's wrong? What does it have to do with our young mistress?"

  The young nobleman didn't look at her, but instead smiled slightly at the silent Bis beside him: "I suppose you've already guessed who I am and what purpose I've come for."

  Bai's face changed. The young noble showed two copper-inlaid wooden plaques, explaining to Bai that he was the messenger sent by Ping Yin Xin and Zhu Jiazhai of Minzhou, jointly dispatched by the Provincial Inspectorate, responsible for repairing the account books that had gone wrong.

  Hearing the words "account book", she couldn't help but feel a connection, and her legs went weak. She saw Bi's face change color repeatedly, as if he was hastily thinking of something, but that young master just smiled slightly, without showing any fierce expression.

  At the time of Bi's hesitation, the young master said lightly: "From the first day when Mr. Bi surrendered to Lord Peng and received the first 'reward silver', he knew what to do if something went wrong. Now Lord Peng wants Mr. Bi to set an example, so that the officials who follow later will not learn from his mistakes and continue to go wrong."

  Bi Si wiped away his sweat and asked: "What does Lord Peng want me to do?"

  The young master pointed to the green jade bowl on the table with the mesmerizing soup and said, "Drink this bowl of water, your limbs will lose their strength. Adults stay in my house for a few days, and then wait for Mr. Peng's further disposal."

  "First... house arrest or something?" Biss thought that whoever would be in charge next couldn't guarantee his life either.

  The young master nodded slightly: "Outside has been looking for adults all along, and adults also need to find a place to avoid."

  Bis was still hesitant and unwilling to drink the medicine.

  "Mr. Bi is seventy-seven years old this year and will celebrate his birthday next month, at which time the Ministry of Officials will issue an official edict to confer a title on your younger brother, selecting him for the position of Proclamation Official." The young master smiled slightly, "Compared to Mr. Bi who raises male concubines, I suppose your younger brother is more favored by Mr. Gao."

  Bis thought for a moment, trembling with fear, before gritting his teeth and saying: "Your Excellency Peng must guarantee the wealth and nobility of my family, or I will not follow your arrangements."

  "That's natural."

  After getting the guarantee, Bis picked up the Qingyu bowl and drank the mesmerizing soup with great difficulty. Then, the young master looked at Hanyu, who was quietly smiling on one side, and wanted to coerce her again by taking advantage of her weakness.

  With a faint smile, her only concern was her younger sister, Liu Linglong, who worked as a matchmaker on the Flower Street of Changping Prefecture. Linglong had sold herself to a troupe of miscellaneous actors in order to earn money to redeem herself from the brothel. However, she later became infatuated with the pleasures of the flesh and couldn't bear to part with those men, taking her earnings to settle down in an even more remote place. She thought that by distancing herself, she wouldn't hear any news about her sister and thus wouldn't feel so guilty. It wasn't until the young master in front of her told her that Linglong had been sold by the troupe owner to the Flower Street, actually falling into a pit of fire, that she realized her own indulgence had ruined her sister's second half of life.

  With a faint smile, she heard that her sister had been waiting for her to come and redeem her, practicing the art of accompanying wine with great effort, but ultimately being forced to sell herself, and shed tears of shame.

  "I can ransom her out and give her a good name, let her live a normal life." The young master promised.

  She wouldn't be foolish enough to believe that things would work out with just a few words, she needed more assurance. The young master seemed to have seen through her thoughts and said lightly: "At this moment, there is no evidence, but Mr. Bi is a ready-made example. When it comes to Mr. Peng's decision, Mr. Bi doesn't dare to resist either. Miss, you can weigh your own weight."

  She fell to the ground with a smile, wailing in grief. In her heart, it was really hard to make a choice. Even ants are greedy for life, let alone a young woman in her prime. The young master helped her up and wiped away her tears with a handkerchief, sighing: "My words were too severe, I apologize to the young lady. If you don't want to drink the anesthetic, that's fine, but there is one thing that must be guaranteed - you can't casually leave this mansion and get caught by outsiders."

  Smiling busily, she nodded and took care of the weak and dizzy Biss in a dimly lit stone house for ten days. During this time, she did not see the young nobleman, only the servant brought her food and necessities, and did not speak to her.

  On the eleventh day, after eating a meal of soup with Bi Shi, they both fainted to the ground. When she came to again, she found herself moved to an underground chamber filled with ice blocks, and in the stone troughs were two transparent coffins made of crystal, with ice blocks also placed between the layers.

  She saw Bi Shi lying softly on his side in the ice coffin, wearing a brocade robe, and fell asleep as usual.

  The young master walked in, sighed, and pulled out a "Release of Goodness" document from the Changping Prefecture Government Office, which had his sister's name, age, appearance, and other details written on it. He said: "This document is issued by the government office, and has been recorded in the household register. Once you become my wife, I will hand over this document to Ling'er, and it will take effect immediately."

  With a faint smile, he seemed to hear some decisive meaning and couldn't help but ask with a trembling body: "Sir, are you saying that Lord Peng has already given instructions?"

  Young Master nodded: "Director Peng wants to ensure that the case cannot be tried, and must eliminate all evidence unfavorable to him. You and Director Bi happen to be in the evidence, so you must disappear."

  She burst into tears. The young gentleman sat quietly beside her, waiting for her to finish crying, then gently stroked her hair and said, "Just sleep it off, no need to be so tormented."

  "Why must a weak woman like me die in order for your case to be successful?"

  He replied faintly, "Since I took over the case from Chu State, I knew there was no turning back and had prepared myself for death. So, it's not just you, even I, the military strategist behind the scenes, can't escape the worst arrangement."

  She listened to this and couldn't calm down, crying non-stop, with tears freezing into ice beads. The young nobleman sat silently beside her, waiting for her to cry herself out, then handed her a handkerchief and said: "I've heard that the Western Frontier Miao Wax Clan has an ultimate skill called 'Wax Corpse', where they seal people in mud wax, leaving only a breathing hole to feed them a mixture of salt and honey water, allowing them to preserve their breath for up to five days."

  With a faint smile, she stopped her crying and said in surprise: "What you've just said is very similar to a story I once heard."

  The young master said bitterly, "I know that the storyteller is called Min Xiao. He heard the details from me when he was reading books, added some sensational elements, and then told them everywhere to scare others."

  With a faint smile, he became even more astonished and uncertain: "Young master, tell me again, what is the logic behind this?"

  "It's just a rumor and I haven't seen it for myself, but I'll have to try it out anyway." The young master replied, glancing at the entrance of the Ice Room.

  Then a high and thin man with a prominent cheekbone walked in, his face was gaunt, his eyes were sunken, and his hands smelled of yellow mud. Huan Xiang took one look at him and immediately thought of the "Skull Man" from Min An's story. She let out a startled cry and kept backing away.

  The young master said in a low voice: "I'm sorry, miss. Let's try the 'wax corpse' method on you first."

  The tall and slender man smiled slyly, his greasy fingers about to touch the smiling body, when he was stopped by the young noble. "Steering wheel has promised me that he will only show off his unique skills and not ruin the girl's reputation."

  The helmsman was a colloquial term used to refer to the master of a unique skill. The tall, thin man was obviously the master, and he couldn't help but take one last look at the soft, smiling body before suppressing his lust and starting to apply the mud wax.

  The young gentleman personally peeled off the smiling outer garment, leaving only her undergarments and shorts, looking at the muddy water that covered her whole body, and then let the tall and thin man carefully seal the white wax, and put her in the ice block stone coffin.

  Young Master walked closer, looking into her smiling eyes and said: "Three days later, you will wake up in front of Mao Shi San's grave. You must insist that it was Gongzi Fei who killed Bi Da Ren. Afterwards, you will be taken to the yamen for interrogation. In the court, you will see Peng Da Ren, who holds the life and death of Ling Long in his hands. If you say one wrong word, the consequences for you and Ling Long will be severe, and I won't be able to salvage the situation."

  At this time, the tall and thin man sneered: "It's best if you say something wrong and nothing comes of it. Lord Peng will give you to me as a reward, and I'll raise you in a mud pot every day."

  Sealed in mud with only a mouth and two eyes exposed, the smiling face struggled to lift its lips: "Please, young master... help me..."

  Young master sighed: "I can hardly protect myself, it's really a case of 'love knows no bounds'. If Mr. Peng's case is handled well, we'll all benefit together; if not, we'll all be affected together, and I won't be able to escape the consequences either. Miss, think carefully about what you should do next - should you help Linglong live a peaceful life or go against Mr. Peng's wishes and fall into the hands of the rudder holder as a plaything?"

  With a wry smile, he glanced at the tall and thin man standing beside him with a sneer, and helplessly closed his eyes.

  Young Master said, "Magistrate Peng will ask you about the case in court. You don't need to explain clearly, just insist that it was Fei Gongzi who killed Bi Daren and deliberately left a flaw. On the side of Fei Gongzi, there must be Shizi supporting him. My goal is to make Shizi question whether the case is reasonable, causing controversy in court. Once Shizi questions Magistrate Peng's trial, he will have an excuse to deploy troops to suppress them, trapping Shizi and his people in the county government office. Whether they live or die depends on Magistrate Peng's decision."

  With a faint smile, he suddenly understood that the "Lord Peng" repeatedly mentioned by the young master must be the behind-the-scenes leader, with high status and power, manipulating everything from outside; while the crown prince who came to support him was actually the person they wanted to eliminate in the end.

  The young master seemed to be unafraid of her non-cooperation, and in front of her, he handled Bi's body, which had the effect of killing a chicken to scare the monkeys. He took out a sharp sword blade and handed it to the tall and thin man, saying: "Mr. Peng's intention is that Mr. Bi must die, and then frame Non Yi Gongzi for the crime. Non Yi has a self-defense soft sword, which is specially made, and was once revealed during the fight on the mountain road. I asked the hunters who were beaten to find out what characteristics the sword had, and then rushed to make an identical one."

  A tall, thin man swiftly stabbed his sword into Bisi's throat, and the unconscious Bisi didn't even twitch before he stopped breathing. His frozen neck didn't spurt out any more blood droplets, perfectly achieving the young master's desired effect of a cold, sealed throat.

  After the corpse's body fell out of the ice coffin, the two men carefully lifted it back in and put it away. The young nobleman said to the tall, thin man: "Just wait until Fei Yi hears about my scattering the news and comes to the Luanyang Ridge to look for the Zimei flower. The flower blooms at 5 am, and it takes an hour to thaw out the corpse. You light the fire at 4 am to unfreeze the body, then transport it to the grave mound. By that time, Fei Yi will have left, so you won't run into him, and the corpse's wounds will still show that the crime happened at 5 am."

  "As for her." With a hint of a smile, she saw the young noble look over at her, his eyes wide with pleading. The young noble let out a soft sigh and said in a low voice, "You can only take good care of yourself now, to ensure your sister's happiness." He didn't look at her again, instead turning to the tall thin man and saying, "Please trouble yourself to create some chaotic footprints on the slope, so that the constables can find her and make it seem like she was caught at the scene of the crime."

  "Remember every step, no mistakes." With that, the young master finished speaking to Hanyu and left the ice room, leaving only one trusted servant to take care of her food and drink.

  She lay in the stone coffin, smiling drowsily, feeling a chill one moment and a fever the next. Her belly was empty and weak with hunger, yet she couldn't die, and every so often a servant would trickle some salty, insipid broth into her mouth. If a slippery hand strayed to her face, the person would slap it away, making sure she wouldn't be disturbed further.

  With a faint smile, she didn't want to open her eyes and see the tall and thin man's skull-like face, as well as his sinister smile. After probably sleeping for three days, the servant carried her out of the ice coffin, stripped off the white wax from her body, put on the clothes she wore before, and then soaked her in a muddy water jar, driving the carriage to the Luangtou Ridge.

  Buried in the earthen jar, Huan Xiang couldn't see any movement outside. She gathered all her strength and used her ten fingers to scratch the wall of the jar, trying to crawl out from under the mud and grass. With a strong desire to survive, she scratched for a long time, until she came back to herself and saw that she had only dug a hole in the mud. A ray of long-awaited sunlight fell before her eyes, making her suddenly realize that what she was doing was actually a futile and powerless struggle.

  With a wry smile, she thought back to her and her sister Liu Ling's early years, finally succumbing to the current situation and accepting the young master's arrangements. For she soon discovered that the yamen runners had found her, questioned her about what she saw, and mistakenly believed she was an eyewitness at the scene of the crime... all these things were not a hair's breadth different from the young master's deductions.

  Smiling wryly, she hugged her own shoulders, waiting for Mr. Peng's arrival, with a look of horror in her eyes. But no one could understand her, and she couldn't fight against the already arranged outcome.

  With a faint smile, the kitchen maid from the county government office helped her tidy up her clothes and came to the public hall with a rustling sound.

  This was her first time in a public court, and she knelt on the stone slab of the trial platform. She looked up to see that the warm pavilion in the great hall had a blue sky and red sun screen, with green bricks and stones, and an official with a round face and white complexion sat on the bench, wearing a slanting blue-green silk woven peacock feather official uniform, his expression hard and cold, almost not bothering to cast his eyes on her.

  The bailiff in the great hall struck the drum, and the sound shook awake the dazed smile. She lifted her head again to see a young nobleman standing below the public case, his expression cold and detached, wearing a long blue-green brocade robe that accentuated his isolation, so much so that she overlooked the flower powder grass mark on the hem of his robe, as well as the yellow mud on the bottom of his boots.

  She remembered, he was Fei Yi.

  A trivial matter that was overlooked with a smile, in the eyes of Peng Yin, who had just ascended to the hall, was ironclad evidence. He began to interrogate Fei Yi, asking when he had gone to the Luanyu Gang and what he had done there.

  Fei Yi said faintly, "Lord Peng already knows that I went to the mountain slope to pick purple flowers and specially dispatched a large number of soldiers to guard my retreat route, inviting me to come to the public hall. Why bother asking some obvious questions hypocritically?"

  Peng Yin Xian raised his hand and said, "This official will naturally need you to explain the reason in the public hall according to the law, so that the clerk can record the testimony. Such a simple and easy-to-understand truth, but you pretend not to understand it, in this official's opinion, you are the one who is pretending to be ignorant!"

  Fei Yi retorted, "I may not be well-versed in the affairs of the court, but at least I know that a person cannot be convicted solely based on the testimony of others. Your Honor says I committed murder, but you need to prove my motive, whether killing this person would bring me any benefits, and how I actually killed him - these details can't be settled by simply opening your mouth in court."

  He didn't want to be self-righteous, and also because repeatedly breaking through the checkpoints would affect his father's reputation, making it embarrassing for him. So he thought of going back to the county government office himself to settle this troublesome matter once and for all. Standing in the public hall listening to the trial for a moment, he gradually realized that Peng Yinxin had actually come prepared, specifically collecting evidence to deal with him.

  Mr. Peng asked the old servant who was attending Mr. Bi to come out first. The old servant said that his master, Mr. Bi, had once offended the young master and been slapped in the face by him. Later, his master sighed in front of him, saying that the young master was so angry that he would take his life one day, and he must go to ask the young lady to think of a way.

  "Is this true?"

  "Have."

  Peng Yin Xinzai knelt on the platform with a faint smile and spoke of what she had seen. Hanyu originally didn't see the whole thing, so it was inevitable that her words would be vague and couldn't be rounded out into coherent testimony. Fei Yi frowned as he listened, and the clerk recording beside him also found it difficult to write down, forcing himself to pick out the main points and continue writing.

  Peng Yin Xun remained calm and asked Fei Yi: "Young Master, is there anything else you'd like to say?"

  The outer gate of the main hall suddenly rang out with a crisp sound of cloud boards being struck. Then, the front hall drum also sounded, and the door boy shouted in a long, drawn-out voice: "The young master has arrived - please come to the front hall to greet him!"

  Three-product official Peng Yin also had to stand up, tidy his clothes and walk down to the platform, bowing towards the gate.

  Li Peinan walked in with his hair tied back and wearing a purple brocade robe and a crimson gauze cloak, holding a long sword in his hand. His pace was neither slow nor fast, the hem of his clothes fluttering down layer by layer, even if there was wind, it couldn't lift up a corner of the lining. The crown prince's attire fit tightly on his slender body, exuding an air of majesty.

  Peng, recalling Li Peinan's precedent of daring to kill someone over a single disagreement, checked the etiquette and made eye contact with his attendants beside him. The two guards who followed him immediately blocked his way and instructed the cavalry to surround the main hall.

  Li Peinan walked straight over, leaving the Moon Platform far behind. He let out a cold snort as he looked at Huan Xiang, who was still kneeling on the ground: "This is the Crown Prince that Lord Peng wants to deal with? Looking at his demeanor, can Lord Peng and his men really handle him?"

  A faint smile brought her thoughts to life, but as she raised her head, she met Peng Yichen's cold, menacing gaze. His eyes were full of warning, as if saying that if she dared to make one wrong move, he would tear her apart on the spot.

  With a faint smile, she thought of her sister still being held in Peng Yin's arms and felt sad again. A thin figure hastily walked by the platform, she didn't have the heart to see who it was, but that person stood not far away, looking at her with a pair of concerned eyes.

  In the court, Li Peinan instructed the clerk to hand over the trial records for him to review, completely disregarding the rules and etiquette of ascending the hall. After browsing through them, he said coldly: "Since Lord Peng wants to try someone from the Prince's Mansion, it must be done according to the Prince's Mansion's rules. I will nominate another clerk to participate in the review."

  Peng Yin sneered coldly from a distance, "Since ancient times, there has never been a reason for two officials to issue orders in the same court! Moreover, as a low-ranking official from a humble background, how can you possibly be qualified to conduct an audit?"

  Li Peinan replied coldly: "Lord Peng can avoid the aforementioned situation by following the assignment of Wen Li."

  Peng Yin hummed and raised his hand: "This official thinks that the young master is not here to listen to the trial, but rather to disrupt the court."

  "What's the matter?" Li Peinan took a step closer, startling Peng Yinxin and the guard to retreat. He still spoke coldly, "Those who want to move against the Crown Prince's residence must first pass through me."

  Peng Yin raised his hand in a salute: "Where is the justice? Does the Crown Prince really want to take on the great crime of 'disturbing the imperial court and threatening the royal envoy'?"

  Li Peinan never listened to any threatening words, and facing Peng Yinxin was no exception. "I am the law in Chu State," he said, taking two more steps forward, causing Peng Yinxin's face to change greatly, and he couldn't help but shout: "Where is the Imperial Guard?"

  A group of people rushed in, the cavalry outside pressing their swords. Li Peinan raised his sword again and turned around to welcome them, but Fei Yan's quick hands grasped his arm, saying in a low voice: "This matter is suspicious, the young master can't kill people casually, giving Peng Yinxin an excuse."

  Li Peinan shook off Fei Yi's hand and said calmly, "I want him to resist, to rebel, otherwise it would be easy to kill him, but killing the imperial envoy would give my father a pretext for rebellion."

  Fei Yi looked at Li Peinan's eyes, which were full of deep meaning, and immediately gave way. Li Peinan turned his face to see Min An still standing under the eaves of the public hall, silently staring at Hanyu with a smile, and couldn't help but call out: "Come here."

  With a faint smile, she raised her head to see that the person wearing silk clothes not far away was indeed Min An. Min An didn't move at all, still gazing at her intently, and said in a low voice: "Don't be afraid, I'll ask Young Master to uphold justice for you. If you have grievances, speak of them; if you have enemies, speak of them, and there will definitely be an answer."

  With a faint smile, she saw that Peng Yinxin had already hinted to her with his eyes, and hastily shook her head dejectedly as she rushed past Min An. She quickly dropped an "ice" word, then took a deep breath and ran to the front of the court, thudding to her knees: "Your Honor! The young woman's words are true, and she has not gone mad! The young woman is willing to die to prove that the murderer is indeed Fei Gongzi!" After speaking, she pulled out the hairpin from her head, gritted her teeth, and stabbed it into her neck.

  With a faint smile and blood, she fell to the ground, prostrating herself at Peng Yin's feet. She raised her head and struggled to utter her last words: "Please, sir... have mercy..." Throughout, she hadn't glanced at anyone else, let alone the person she had accused, Ni Rou.

  A sudden twist on the public stage, the atmosphere changed from tense to stagnant.

  Li Peinan looked at Peng Yinxin's calm face and said coldly: "Is this the method of Mr. Peng?"

  Author's note: I had a high fever, vomiting and diarrhea, and was completely exhausted. I persisted in finishing this chapter, and even revised it several times that night. This chapter has some big plot holes, if you're not satisfied with it, sorry about that:) He not only prepared for a victorious battle but also prepared an escape route, so he's not a weak opponent. He didn't expect Li Peinan's plan, which put him at a disadvantage:) Let's see how the two groups fight each other in the next chapter, there will be winners and losers, and some supporting characters will become cannon fodder.

  This chapter was influenced by TVB's "Washing the Unjust 2" - Ruan Yuzhu case, so I arranged for Xiaozhu to coerce two cannon fodders and prepare a plot in advance. As for the case, I guarantee it is completely new, just want to try writing, how novel can a case be?:) If you are disappointed, I still say sorry deeply. Actually before posting, I asked in the group if the sisters could accept such an arrangement, after getting the response from three online sisters, I dared to post it out, thanks for their suggestions:)

  Thank you for supporting V Chapter readers

  Thank you for the numerous hand grenades and 6 landmines

  Thank you for tomorrow's hand grenade, mm

  Thank you very much Ah Xia, Mao Qiu, Yu Guo Tian Qing, H and Meimei's landmine.